1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toy automobile. More specifically, the present invention relates to a toy automobile in which a new steering device and a new power transmitting mechanism are provided for a toy automobile, the toy automobile running along a track.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a toy automobile includes: a driving device for transmitting the power of a DC motor to the rear wheels to make the automobile run; and a steering device for turning the front wheels to left or right.
There are many kinds of steering devices for the conventional toy automobiles. Those which are remotely controlled by a wireless frequency turn their front wheels to left and right by means of an electromagnet to run in the desired direction.
However, a toy automobile which runs along a track do not use a steering device.
In the toy automobiles, some of them transmit the driving power only to the front wheels, and some others transmit the driving force only to the rear wheels. However, recently, 4-wheel driving toy automobiles are seen, in which the driving power is transmitted to the front and rear wheels.
In the conventional 4-wheel driving method as shown in FIG. 1, the driving power of a driving motor 100 is transmitted to a pinion 300 of a rear wheel shaft 200 to drive the rear wheels. Further, the rear wheel shaft 200 and a front wheel shaft 400 are provided with power transmitting gears 500 and 600 respectively, and an elongate power transmitting shaft 700 is connected between the gears 500 and 600, so that the driving power would be transmitted from the rear to the front wheels, thereby driving all the four wheels.
In the conventional automobile which runs along a track having side walls, the rollers which are installed on the bumper contact to the inner wall of the track, and therefore, the automobile body is biased. Under this condition, the wheel which contacts to the bottom of the track is subjected to a braking phenomenon, and therefore, the small electric motor which is driven by a dry cell undergoes an overload. As a result, the power consumption of the dry cell becomes excessive, and the toy automobile is liable to be detached from the track over a curved portion of the track.
Meanwhile, in the 4-wheel driving toy automobiles, the power of the driving motor is first transmitted to the rear wheels, and then, is transmitted to the front wheels. Therefore, the front wheels lag the rear wheels in the power and speed.
In other words, the driving power of the motor is distributed non-uniformly between the rear and front wheels, and therefore, when driving up a sloped face, or when running a curved path, the driving force and velocity are lowered due to the gradient and the rolling resistance. Further, the center of gravity of the toy automobile is biased to one side, and therefore, the automobile body is biased to one side during the running. In a worse case, the toy automobile may be overturned.